The Swedish Patent Specification Number 310 603 discloses a fixing means of the kind mentioned which comprises a resilient member made of rubber, plastics or the like and having an anchoring portion arranged to be received in a profiled frame element associated with the cabinet or with a separate film magazine, and a film-engaging portion which is arranged to be deflected, or pushed to one side, when an X-ray film is introduced between said surface and said film-engaging portion, and then released, so as to hold the film against the illuminated surface by friction.
One disadvantage with this known X-ray film fixing means is that the film-engaging portion must be capable of exerting a relatively high pressure against the illuminated surface, in order to hold the film satisfactorily. This means, however, that a correspondingly large force must be exerted in order to deflect the film-engaging portion when mounting the X-ray film in position. Consequently, in practice, the films are often not fixed to the illuminated surface satisfactorily, and as a result fall off and are liable to be damaged and hence render it difficult or impossible to make a diagnosis on the basis of the X-ray film in question.
Furthermore, X-ray films of the kind in question are often carried in vertically moveable film-supporting frames in a wheeled transport box which, similar to a carriage, can be moved between a storage station and one or more different X-ray examining cabinets, where the films are examined. During transportation of such a box or carriage, the box or carriage is subjected to vibrations and similar movements, and there is an undeniably high risk of a number of films loosening from their respective fixing means, which can cause chaos in the whole of the system arranged to enable accurate identification of the various X-ray images. If this situation arises, it is often necessary to re-take the X-ray films, with a subsequent increased dosage risk for the patients.